Loaded Bullet
by shadowblade-tara
Summary: AU. One thing can change life forever.


**Loaded Bullet**

It _had been _a normal day. Kikyou _had been_ at cheerleading practice. Inuyasha _had been _taking a makeup chemistry test on the other side of the campus. Sesshoumaru and Kagome _had been _in the art room working on her sculpture and his painting. Sango and Miroku _had been_ walking home together. Things were _supposed_ to be that way. It _should not _have changed.

But it did.

**Uncle Sam taught him to shoot maybe a little too well**

**Finger on the trigger LOADED BULLET**

Naraku and Hakudoshi were friends, in the loosest sense of the term. They were allies to a cause, both teased and harassed by the other teenagers and generally ignored by everyone else on campus. It must have been hard, living a life where no one cared much about you. They didn't have anything to hold on to, to stop them from doing what they did. Maybe if they had, things would have ended differently that afternoon.

It was a miracle that most kids were not in school. It was a bright beautiful day, so not many teens decided to come in and sit in a boring classroom when they could be at the beach enjoying themselves. That was how it was supposed to be.

The cheerleading squad was the first to get hit.

**He hit the stage so full of rage and let the whole world know it**

**Sit feet away they heard him say 'oh GOD DON'T LET HIM PULL IT'**

They were carrying M-16s they had picked up from some military exchange. Only heaven knew where they had found the money for such things. Together they opened fire, not really caring who they hit or how many times. They didn't seem to care if their victims lived or died.

They just wanted them to hurt.

**Please God don't let him pull it**

There was only one person who was supposed to be spared the onslaught. Other than that, no one cared who was hurt. Everyone was equally guilty in their eyes.

That one person would be the reason why Naraku stuck so close to Hakudoshi. He knew the older boy wouldn't care if the girl lived or died. He would open fire, and it would be up to Naraku to keep him away from her if he wanted her to survive.

**How could you put us through it**

**His brother watched him do it**

Inuyasha was spared, but he knew what was going on. The science wing was not a target, as most of the teenagers were either in the gym or in the cafeteria. The gym where Kikyou, his girlfriend, was. He was scared, but not for himself. He wanted to protect her, but there was no way he could get to her.

The lockdown had started too late. No one thought danger would come from within their own walls.

**How could you take his life away (what made you think you had the right)**

**How could you be so full of hate (to take away somebody's life)**

The art studio lay between the gym and the cafeteria. They headed to it.

Sesshoumaru couldn't say he was truly surprised. After all, he knew how twisted Hakudoshi was. He just never thought Naraku of all people would participate in something like this. He had to have known Kagome was going to be in here. Why would he let Hakudoshi come in here?

Kagome was shocked, and scared out of her mind. Never in all her life did she think she would be staring down the barrel of a gun, especially one wielded by her friend. She had been the only one who showed any kindness to Naraku at all.

He would repay her for it.

"Kagome," he said gently, "turn around."

She refused.

**And when I heard you let them die and made the world all wonder why**

**I sat at home and cried alone and on my own I scratched your name in the side of a bullet!**

That day had been hell on earth.

The total was sixteen dead, another twenty-five wounded. Kikyou had been paralyzed, Inuyasha spared. Sesshoumaru had been shot twelve times and spent two months in a coma before he finally recovered enough to leave intensive care.

Kagome was dead.

**And in the wake of his mistake so many lives are broken**

**Gone forever from a LOADED BULLET**

Naraku had given her the opportunity to turn around, and not see what he and his friend were planning to do. He wanted to spare her, and she had been brave enough to stand up to him and try and make him stop.

Hakudoshi had killed her. Naraku had killed him.

Kagome's heart had stopped twice and the doctors had managed to bring her back both times. After that her mother had told them to just let her go. Two months later she was still in ICU, but at least her heart hadn't failed again. The doctors were almost certain she would recover, but there was still the chance she would die a third time.

That fact alone was enough to almost destroy Sesshoumaru.

**No excuse that you can use to pull somebody through it**

**To this day so many say 'God why'd you let him do it'**

He stands by her side now, his own scars barely healed enough to allow him this visit. He knows she won't give up, that she'll be just fine, but there's still the fear that he'll lose her.

After all, Naraku wasn't the only outcast she had befriended.

**How could you put us through it**

**His brother watched him do it**

He sees himself in them. If Kagome had not come along, if she hadn't brought Inuyasha, Kikyou, and the others with her, he would have been there himself. He closes his eyes and sighs, thinking about all the damage done.

There would be a ceremony in two weeks for the dead. He wants Kagome to be there with him, but he knows she won't.

And so he won't go.

**How could you take her life away (what makes you think you have the right)**

**How could you be so full of hate (to take away somebody's life)**

He leans down and whispers in her ear.

**And when I heard you let them die and make the world all wonder why**

**I sat at home and cried alone and on my own I scratched your name in the side of a bullet**

"_Don't give up, Kagome. I love you."_

/--/

AN: Wow. I have no clue where that came from. Isn't that depressing? Well, drop me a line, and be as nice as possible. Not one of my better ones, but then again, most of you seem to like my not so good ones.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or the song. "Side of a Bullet" is owned by Nickleback.


End file.
